Game apparatus.



. A. W. THIMM. GAME APPARATUS.

APPLIQATION FILED JULY 23, 1910.

Patented Dec. 27, 1910.-

Wiwnesses: Inventor I Q2 W 7 fwfilfiaaw ZM fihov'ny fur NORRIS PErERs cm, WASHINGTON, n. c

ALEXIUS W. TI-IIIVLIVI, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

GAME APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 27, 1910.

Application filed July 23, 1910. Serial No. 573,486.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALnxiUs N. THIMM, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Seattle, in the county of King and State of lvashington, have invented certain ne and useful linprovements in Game Apparatus, of which the following is a full, true, and exact specification.

lhe principal object of my invention is to provide a new form of amusement requiring nice calculation of the course taken by a suspended ball or other object, having a substantially horizontal as well as a vertical movement.

A further object is to provide an apparatus for playing the game which may be readily packed into small and convenient compass.

I am fully aware that it is not new in the art to provide a platform or base for pins, or the like, and means for suspending a ball the same to be swung around a fixed standard or post and finally to contact with the pins and bowl them over, the ball having but one motion. In my present invention the ball is susceptible of two different mo tions when projected from the hand of the player, and great skill is required to predetermine its course and to execute with precision, as will be clearly set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my ap paratus. Fig. 2 an end elevation of a modi-' fied form. Fig. 3 a side view of the same.

The numeral 1 designates an upright having its lower end planted in the ground and suitably braced as at 2, having its upper end secured by mortise joint to the arm 3, and having the strut 4C. To the outer end of the arm 3 is secured in any suitable manner, the spring 5, to the lower end of which is attached the cord 6, connected to the ball 7 and supporting the same in a plane slightly below the tops of the pins 8, which are arranged in the order shown upon the top 9 of the case 10, having the handles 11 and hasps 12. The opposite side of the case 10 may also have similar hasps or suitable hinges, the object being to provide a case into which all the movable parts of the apparatus may be readily placed in a compact manner, and readily portable, when desired.

To play the game, the pins 8 are preferably arranged in the order shown in Fig. 1, the player standing in the approximate location of the reference letter A, takes ball 7 and by exerting a downward pressure upon the same, extends the spring 5, when the ball 7 is thrown forward with just suflicient impetus to pass around the post or standard 13, the ball taking a vertically uneven or curved course as shown in dotted lines Fig. 1, which finally brings the same into the plane of the pins 8, not necessarily, however, bowling over any of the same, or in fact even contacting with them, as will be seen by following the dotted course of the ball in the figure; the vertically uneven or curved course of the ball, caused by the vibration of the spring 5, together with the forward impulse given the same by the player, making it possible for the ball to skip or hurdle the pins which stand directly in its path, while, in other instances, certain of the pins are bowled over by the ball, leaving the others untouched.

The pins have different values according to the varying degrees of skill required to bowl them over or leave them standing, as the case may be. For example, it is manifestly less difiicult to bowl over the entire line of pins in the dotted path of the ball, and leave the others standing, than it is to so calculate both the vertical motion as well as the forward force given the ball as to hurdle or skip the first pin in the dotted path of the ball (probably just toppling the same without entirely displacing it) ant bowl the center or king pin from the board, without displacing any of the other pins. This is considered the most diiiicult shot or feat in the game and counts 50 for the player. Experimental proof has d811'1011 strated that it is possible to clear the entire board with the exception of the king or center pin, which is left standingsuch a shot or score counting 45 for the player, and so on with many and various other astonishing possibilities.

The skill required to play the game is obviously increased by using the modified form of the apparatus as shown in Figs. 2

and 3, in which the arm 0 is pivotally mounted upon the upright 1, instead of being fixed thereto, the spring 18 normally forcing the arm 3 down into its seat 1 1 in the upright 1, the auxiliary spring 15 accelerating the swinging motion of the arm 3, as will be readily understood.

I am fully aware that many changes in the minor details will readily suggest them selves to others skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the exactform of embodiment herein shown and described.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is- 1. In a game apparatus, a suspended ball, a stationary standard around which the ball is to be thrown, a set of movable pins; means for imparting a sufficient vertical movement to the ball during its travel, whereby certain of the pins may be hurdled or skipped, r

or left standing, according to the skill of the player, substantially as described, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a game apparatus the combination of a fixed support, a vertically movable arm pivotally mounted upon said support, a ball, a connection attached at its upper end to said arm and at its lower end to said ball, said connection comprising an upper spring section and a lower flexible section, as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In a game apparatus the combination of the suspended and swinging ball '7 and spring 5, with the standard 13 and movable pins 8, for the purpose set forth.

ALEXIUS WV. THIMM. Witnesses FRED P. GRIM, M. E. BREWER. 

